Cloud Models and Cloud Types

Question 1

Name the 4 cloud models

Answer 1

Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-service (PaaS, Software-as-a-service (SaaS) and the serverless model

Question 2

Explain Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)

Answer 2

Virtual machines, networking, load balancers, firewalls. Anything that you have a physical representation in your own network but you are using a virtualized representation on the cloud. Moving what you currently have from your own network and moving it into the cloud. You control the virtual hardware and chose the CPU, memory, … It’s a virtual imitation of a real piece of network. Falls into 3 categories – compute, networking and storage. It’s completely dumb unless you control it. Examples: Virtual machines, azure storage, load balancer.

Question 3

Explain Platform-as-a-service (PaaS)

Answer 3

Compiling your code, putting it to a zip file and uploading it to the cloud provider then just runs that code without access to hardware. Those are called web apps or ASP services. No choices over hardware, you chose over payment levels, like standard or premium or basic. You don’t control the servers, you control data and setting, you can upload your own code, so basically it’s a platform that you need to build upon to be useful. Example: SQL database, Cosmos DB.

Question 4

Explain Software-as-a-service (SaaS)

Answer 4

Basically everything where we use a web browser to access a service is SaaS service, its running on the cloud. Active Directory is a product that runs in the cloud as a SaaS. We are not uploading code to run, we are using a product. You don’t control the servers or the software, you control the data and settings and it stands alone as a useful product.
Examples: Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Docs, Microsoft 365(SharePoint, outlook, excel).

Question 5

Explain the serverless model

Answer 5

There are still servers you just don’t have to deal with them. You don’t have to worry about choosing the right plan, because you leave things to the cloud and only pay for what you need. Not worrying about scaling. You can pay nothing if you don’t use the service ( if an app isn’t visited you don’t pay nothing because you pay for execution not for reservation of that).
Examples: Compute (Azure functions, serverless Kubernetes), Database (Azure SQL Database Server, Cosmos DB Serverless)

Question 6

Name the 3 cloud types

Answer 6

Public Cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud

Question 7

Explain the Public Cloud

Answer 7

Anyone can sign for an account on azure website and you can use the services immediately. Azure is the vender, they own the hardware, the network and the infrastructure. We rent or lease services not the hardware. Long terms.

Question 8

Explain the Private Cloud

Answer 8

When you set a cloud environment using your own hardware. The customer may want a large upfront CapEx, but at the same time want the cloud, the flexibility, agility, scalability, … Looks and acts like a cloud except customer owns or leases or has exclusive access to the hardware.

Question 9

Explain the hybrid cloud

Answer 9

Combination of public cloud and private cloud, so you use the public cloud and your own hardware. You basically extend your space into the public cloud, like your databases that you had on your private cloud, working with servers that run some of them in the public cloud and some on your own cloud. Microsoft is better than Amazon and Google in this.

Question 10

What is the meaning of Economies of Scale

Answer 10

The more of something you buy, the cheaper it is own and operate per unit.

Question 11

What is Azure Stack

Answer 11

Azure stack is software you can license and install on your hardware, and use a portal and use the same way as a public cloud.